The General Laws of Massachusetts mandate an annual street listing of residents as of January 1st each year (M.G.L. Ch. 51 § 4). Therefore, the Chelmsford Town Clerk sends out census forms to all Chelmsford households at the beginning of every year. Forms are due back to our office within 10 days. The census form asks for the name, gender, date of birth and occupation of all residents in your household.

Records for residents 17 years of age or older are public information. A street list is published each year containing the names and addresses of every resident 17 years of age or older, in accordance with M.G.L. Ch. 51 § 6, and is available for $15 as a hard copy or CD.

Pre-printed census forms are mailed to Chelmsford households. If the pre-printed information is correct, please sign the form and send it back to the Clerk’s Office within 10 days of receipt. If the information needs to be updated, you can add, delete or make changes on your form and mail it back to the Clerk’s Office.

If you live in an apartment building with more than 8 units, your landlord or management company is legally required to provide census data to our office for all residents of the building (M.G.L. Ch. 51 § 10A). Residents of large apartment buildings will receive individual census forms by mail as well.

If you are a registered voter, failure to respond shall result in removal from the active voting list and may result in removal from the voter registration rolls. If you are not a registered voter, it is still important for you to return your census form – many public benefits require proof of residency, which our office can provide for any resident who has been counted in the Census. An accurate count of residents in town leads to better municipal services. Answering the census on a yearly basis helps Chelmsford maintain accurate population information for the allocation of state and federal funds, as well as grants to the Town; and assists individuals with proof of residency for numerous personal and/or legal requirements, such as:o In-state tuition at state colleges or universities;o Housing benefits for the elderly or other eligible persons;o Veterans’ benefits;o Insurance benefits; ando School enrollment.

An inactive voter is a voter who failed to answer the census. Every summer, registered voters who failed to respond to either the first or second census mailing are made inactive. Voters who are made inactive are immediately sent confirmation cards, which the voter can send back to be reinstated as active or to report an address change. Voters can also be reinstated to the active voting list by either voting in an election or signing a petition or nomination paper. When inactive voters arrive at the polling place, they will be asked to show identification and will need to fill out an Affirmation of Current and Continuous Residence. After the election, they will be reinstated to the active voting list.

If a voter fails to respond to the annual census and does not vote in the next two biennial state elections, the voter will be removed from the voter registration rolls. M.G.L.Ch. 51 §37.

Pre-printed census forms mailed to residents’ homes will include an asterisk next to the names of residents who are registered voters in the column titled “Registered Voter.” If there is no asterisk next to your name on pre-printed forms, you are not registered to vote in Chelmsford.

If you are a registered voter and you would like to update your name, party, or address, make the change on your census form and make sure that you have signed the form. If the form is signed by another member of your family, your census will be counted but we will not be able to make the change to your voter registration. If more than one person in your family would like to make a change to their voter registration, each person making a change must sign the form.

By state statute, Assessor records must identify the owner of each parcel as of January 1st. If the parcel transfers after January 1st, the new owner is reflected on the second line "in care of" for that fiscal year. The new owner will be identified on the first line of ownership the following January 1st.

A business certificate is a registration of a business that is being conducted within the Town of Chelmsford. It is commonly referred to as a "d/b/a form" or "Doing Business As". Its purpose is primarily for consumer protection and public information purposes. Essentially, the public has a right to know who "is" a particular business, since a customer will not know who "owns" the business simply by the name of that business.

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 110, section 5, states that any person conducting business under any title (business name) other than the real name of person conducting the business must file a Doing Business As certificate with the Town Clerk’s Office. A person is defined as an individual, a partnership or a corporation.Exemptions to filing are allowed under section 6 if the corporation is doing business in its true corporate name, or if a partnership is doing business under any title, which includes the true surname of any partner. Certain other exemptions exist for trust and limited partnerships.

If solely one person owns the business only that person need sign. If it is a partnership, both or all of the partners must sign. If it is a corporation, an officer who has signatory authority must sign. All signatures must be made in front of a notary.An individual must be 18 years of age or older to legally sign a business certificate.

If you change your residence as listed on the certificate, or change the location of the business within town (but keep the same name) you must file either a statement of change of residence, or a statement of change of location of business.If you discontinue your business, retire or withdraw from conducting business (i.e. go out of business or move it to another town) you must file a statement of discontinuance.If you wish to change the name of your business you must file a new certificate for the new business name. You cannot simply change the name of the business because technically you are stopping business in one name and starting business in a new name.In the case of death of such a person, the executor or administrator of the estate must file a statement.

The law states that copies of your certificate must be available at the address at which the business is conducted, and shall be furnished on request during regular business hours to any person who has purchased goods or services from such business.

All forms may be obtained from the Town Clerk's office and are filed at the Town Clerk's office. When filing a Business Certificate, the applicant must complete the relevant portion of the form. Business Certificate

The Town Clerk’s Office issues “Business Certificates” to register certain businesses. This is to register individuals and businesses and does not allow or permit any business rights with respect to the provisions of the Zoning Bylaws or other regulations.For any proposed use, a determination of the applicability of the Zoning by-laws is to be made by the Zoning Enforcement Officer prior to commencing such use as stated in regulations of the Town of Chelmsford Zoning Bylaws.

The town owns between six to eight feet in from the edge of the road depending on the layout of the road. The town engineer at 978-250-5228 is the best person to determine this on a road-by-road basis.

Call the Engineering Division at 978-250-5228 and someone will come out to determine if it is actually on town property. If so, and the tree is in decline or posing a hazard, we will have the tree removed. If it is a healthy tree, and you want it removed for aesthetic reasons, we will set up a Shade Tree Hearing. The Tree Warden will determine if the tree can be removed. This will be at the owner’s expense.

The town will generally sand with an accumulation of 1-inch of snow / ice. The town will plow if there is an accumulation of three or more inches of snow. Plows / sanders will initially attempt to make each road passable then return to open the roads further. The town provides sand for residents to use on private property. It is located across from the back of the police station in the small parking lot at the high school field on Graniteville Road. Residents must transport the sand from this location to their property.

The Sewer Division does not mark out sewer lines on private property. We have a sewer as-built plan for most sewer connections. To request a copy of the as-built plan, call the sewer office at 978-250-5233.

Please contact your local plumber to determine if there is a problem with your sewer line. If the plumber thinks there might be a backup in the public sewer line under the road or in a manhole, please contact the sewer office at 978-250-5233.

Most sewer bills can now be paid online. Choose Online Payments from the Town of Chelmsford main page. Sewer bills can be paid at the collector’s window on the main floor of the Chelmsford town offices, 50 Billerica Road between 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. Payments can also be placed in our “black box” outside the front door of the Chelmsford town offices – this box is accessible 24 hours a day. Bills can also be paid through the mail (send to tax collector / treasurer, Town of Chelmsford, P.O. Box 100, Chelmsford, MA 01824-0100). In addition, bills can be paid with your online bill pay service.

Either the closing attorney, the realtor, or the homeowner should contact the water district that services your home. They will schedule a final read of your water meter and generate a final water bill. The water district will supply that information to us and we will generate a final sewer bill and change the name to the new homeowner prior to closing.

You may go to the Town Clerk's Office during regular business hours and vote absentee over the counter twenty days prior to the election, up to noon the day before election day.

To have an absentee ballot mailed to you, you may either download the Absentee Ballot Application, complete the form and mail it to the Town Clerk's Office or go to the Town Clerk's Office during regular business hours and complete an application. Absentee Voting Website

Chelmsford is divided into four representative districts. Please find your precinct number in order to obtain your representative's information. Use the Elected Representatives Webpage link below: Elected Representatives Webpage